Slider for separable fasteners

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION RELATES TO A SLIDER FOR CONNECTING THE ENDS OF PAPER-MAKING FELTS, THE SLIDER HAVING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY SPACED GROOVES LATERALLY OFFSET TO ONE ANOTHER AND HAVING A THREADING MEANS INSERTABLE INTO THE LOOPS OF THE ENDS OF THE FELT TO CONNECT THEM TOGETHER. THE INVENTION ALSO RELATES TO A METHOD OF CONNECTING THE ENDS OF THE FELT TOGETHER WHEN EMPLOYING THE SLIDER.

Oct. 19, 1971 J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE EFAL 3,513,176

SLIDER FOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS Filed April 9, 1970 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. James Hoythornihwoite Joseph A. Fordeou ,auuup' Y ATTORNEYS 4 Oct. 19, 1971 J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE ET AL 3,613,176

SLIDER FOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1970 FIGZ FIGS

INVENTORS. James Hoythornthwui're Joseph A. Fardeclu w i" 2.4 BY ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 19, 1971 J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE ErAL1 3,613,176

SLIDER FOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS Filed April 9, 1970 5 Sheets-$heet 5 INVENTORS. James Hoythormhwuire Joseph A. Fordeou BY ATTORNEYS.

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INVENTORS. domes Hoyrhornthwoite Joseph A. Fardeou ATTOR NEYS.

United States Patent 01 hce 3,613,176 SLIDER FOR SEPARABLE FASTENERS James Haythornthwaite and Joseph A. Fardeau, Joliette, Quebec, Canada, assignors to Scapa Dryers (Canada) Ltd., Joliette, Quebec, Canada Filed Apr. 9, 1970, Ser. No. 26,810 Int. Cl. F16g 3/00 U.S. CI. 2431 H 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a slider for connecting the ends of paper-making felts, the slider having a pair of vertically spaced grooves laterally offset to one another and having a threading means insertable into the loops of the ends of the felt to connect them together. The invention also relates to a method of connecting the ends of the felt together when employing the slider.

This invention relates to sliders for separable fasteners and, in particular, to a slider for fastening the ends of paper-making felts or clothing.

Paper-making felts or paper machine clothing vary in width and a width of 300 is not unknown. The ends of the felt are connected together so as to form, in effect, an endless belt and the connection is known in the art as a clipper seam. A clipper seam generally consists of a strip of webbing having steel loops projecting from one terminal end edge and which strip is sewn on to an associated end of the felt when the latter is installed in the paper-making machine. Thereafter, it is necessary to locate the loops on one strip (fast on one end of the felt) between the loops on the other strip and to pass a wire through the meshed loops so that an endless belt is formed. Heretofore, this has been achieved by making crayon marks on the underside of each strip of webbing and attempting to get each pair of marks into perfect registry with one another before inserting the wire manually. This procedure has posed many problems coupled with the time and labour factor. The time and labour factor has, of course, varied from machine to machine depending upon the width of the felt being installed because, in cases of felts of small widths, it has taken two men one hour or more to install a felt in this fashion and, in the case of a width of 300", ten men for the same amount of time.

Not only has it taken time to effect perfect registry of the crayon marks but when the wire has been inserted into the loops, its leading end has tended, during threading, to bend thereby projecting upwardly between the loops, during its path of travel across the felt, so that withdrawal of the wire has then been required to straighten the wire and the operation has then had to be repeated.

Thus, it is one object of the present invention to overcome the above disadvantages by providing a slider which not only brings about easy meshing of the loops with one another but which also ensures that the wire will quickly and easily pass through the loops from one side of the felt to the other with a minimum amount of labour and effort.

According to one broad aspect, therefore, the present invention relates to a slider for a pair of separable fas- 3,613,176 Patented Oct. 19, 1971 teners, said slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end; a pair of vertically spaced grooves laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another, both of said grooves being capable of receiving an associated said fastener; said fasteners cooperating with one another adjacent said throat as each said member emerges from its groove towards said exit end; and a guide step formed at the exit end of said throat, said guide step serving to act as a stop for threading means introduced into said fasteners from said exit end and connecting said fasteners together upon movement of said slider relative to said fasteners.

According to another broad aspect, the present invention relates to the combination of a slider for a pair of separable fasteners, said slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end; a pair of vertically spaced grooves laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another, both of said grooves being capable of receiving an associated said fastener, said fasteners cooperating with one another adjacent said throat as each said member emerges from its groove towards said exit end; and a guide step formed at the exit end of said throat; and threading means introduced into said fasteners from said exit end and connecting said fasteners together upon movement of said slider relative to said fasteners, said guide step serving to act as a stop for said threading means.

According to a still further broad aspect, the present invention relates to a method of connecting a pair of separable fasteners including the steps of:

(a) inserting each said fastener into an associated groove formed in a slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end, said grooves being vertically spaced and laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another;

(b) moving said slider relative to said fasteners until the latter cooperate with one another adjacent said throat;

(c) introducing threading means from said exit end of said slider into said cooperating fasteners to connect them together;

(d) thereafter continuing said relative movement until the entire length of said connected fasteners emerge from said exit end; and

(e) removing said threading means from said slider and securing the ends of said means to maintain said connected fasteners in operative relationship with one another.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGv 1 is a plan view of the slider;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are opposite side elevations;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are opposite end elevations;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the leading ends of two strips or separable fasteners of webbing partially in situ in said slider;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are detail views of a threader forming part of the threading means;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional plan view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the threader in situ;

FIG. 10 is a detail view of the threader and its relation to other components of the slider.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the slider indicated generally at 1 has a fastener entry end indicated generally at 20 and a fastener exit end indicated generally at 30 and is provided with an upper groove 2 and a lower groove 3, the latter being substantially horizontal as will be seen from FIG. 2, said grooves being vertically spaced and laterally offset to one another. The upper or first groove 2, as will be seen from FIG. 3 extends horizontally for a portion of its length from the entry end 20 and is then angulated downwardly at 4 for the remainder of its length where it joins With the second groove 3 to form a throat at 5, the second or lower groove '3 extending horizontally from said entry end 20 to its juncture with the first groove 2. The throat 5 also extends horizontally but curves downwardly to form a guide-step 6 where it joins a tongue 7 extending horizontally from the exit end 30 to the guide-step 6. The slider 1 is also provided with a hand-grip 8 and transversely extending upper and lower holes 9, 10, the upper hole 9 accommodating a transverse shaft 11 on the outer ends of which a pair of pressure rollers 12 are mounted.

In practice, one end of one separable fastener or strip A of webbing (see FIGS. 6 and 9) with its wire loops A is introduced into the upper groove 2 of slider 1 and the latter slid along said strip A until the leading edge of the latter is in approximate vertical alignment at the location where the guide-step 6 merges with the throat 5. One end of the other separable fastener or second strip B of webbing with its wire loops B is then introduced into the lower groove 3 so that its leading end is in transverse alignment with the leading end of strip A whereby the loops A and B adjacent that end will be meshed and connected with one anothersuch condition being shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, a portion of leading wire W is shown having its forward end gripped by a tapering and curved threader 13, the latter substantially conforming with the profile of the guide-step 6 and both wire and threader constituting threading means.

When the strips A and B have reached the position shown in FIG. 6, the threader 13 is introduced from the exit end 30 of the slider 1 over the tongue 7 and guidestep 6 where its pointed end is introduced into the loops A and B.

The hand grip 8 is then grasped and the slider 1 moved in relation to the strips A and B in the direction of arrow Z. Such relative movement causes the combined leading ends of strips A and B to move down over the guide-step 6 until they are located between the tongue 7 and the angulated peripheral edges of the pressure rollers 12 which presses them into contact with the tongue during the movement of the slide 1 relative to the strips A and B and prevents lateral slippage of the latter during such movement.

If this movement of the slider 1 is continued across the width of strips A and B, their loops will mesh and interconnect with one another and, simultaneously, the wire W Will be located within said loops A and B to maintain them in cooperating operative relationship. When the slider 1 reaches the trailing ends of strips A and B, said slider 1 and the threader 13 slide free of said ends whereupon the threader 13 is then removed and the ends of the wire W secured in the normal way so as to maintain the connected loops, A, B (and hence the fasteners) in operative relationship with one another.

It will be appreciated that the action of the threader 13 and the wire W in travelling through the loops A and B results from a division of force applied by the operator to the slider. For instance, and as will be seen from FIG. 10, force fl is applied perpendicularly to the seam, formed by the junction of the two strips A and B, thereby maintaining the seam in position. Force 2 is applied parallel to the seam thus causing the loops A, B to move about the threader 13 and wire W. Force 1 is applied behind the divisional forces f1 and f2 and parallel to the line of junction of the strips A and B. As will be appreciated from FIGS. 7 and 8, the specially designed shape of the threader 13 divides the above forces. If desired, the cross-sectional shape of the wire W may be rounded, square, rectangular or elliptical.

Moreover, and as will be seen from FIGS. 8 and 10, the central longitudinal axis 14 of the operative end of threader 13 is normally slightly angulated with respect to the horizontal. However, and under working conditions, the longitudinal axis of this angulation assumes the same horizontal plane as the throat 5.

Hence, not only does the invention provide a novel slider for connecting a pair of separable fasteners but also a novel method for achieving such connection.

We claim:

1. A slider for a pair of separable fasteners, said slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end; thus being a pair of vertically spaced grooves laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another, both of said grooves being capable of receiving an associated said fastener; said fasteners cooperating with one another adjacent said throat as each said member emerges from its groove towards said exit end; and a guide step formed at the exit end of said throat, said guide step serving to act as a stop for threading means introduced into said fasteners from said exit end and connecting said fasteners together upon movement of said slider relative to said fasteners.

2. A slider according to claim 1 including a tongue extending from said exit end to said guide step and over which said connected fasteners pass during said relative movement.

3. A slider according to claim 2 including a pair of pressure rollers mounted on said slider and located above said tongue, said connected fasteners being contacted by the peripheries of said rollers and pressed into contact with said tongue during said relative movement.

4. A slider according to claim 3 wherein a first of said grooves extends horizontally from said entry end for a portion of its length and then downwardly at an angle for the remainder of its length; the second of said grooves extending horizontally from said entry end to its juncture with said first groove.

5. A slider according to claim 4 wherein said threading means includes a threader connected to the leading end of a connecting member.

6. A slider according to claim 5 wherein the leading portion of said threader substantially conforms with the profile of said guide step.

7. A slider according to claim 6 including a hand-grip by means of which said relative movement can be effected.

8. In combination, a slider for a pair of separable fasteners, said slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end; there being a pair of vertically spaced grooves laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another, both of said grooves being capable of receiving an associated said fastener, said fasteners cooperating with one another adjacent said throat as each said member emerges from its grooves towards said exit end; and a guide step formed at the exit end of said throat; and threading means introduced into said fasteners from said exit end and connecting said fasteners together upon movement of said slider relative to said fasteners, said guide step serving to act as a stop for said threading means.

9. A method of connecting a pair of separable fasteners including the steps of:

(a) inserting each said fastener into an associated groove formed in a slider having a fastener entry end and a fastener exit end, said grooves being vertically spaced and laterally offset to one another and extending from said entry end to a throat where they join one another;

('b) moving said slider relative to said fasteners until the latter cooperate with one another adjacent said throat;

(c) introducing threading means from said exit end of said slider into said cooperating fasteners to conmeet them together;

(d) thereafter continuing said relative movement until the entire length of said connected fasteners emerge from said exit end; and

(e) removing said threading means from said slider and securing the ends of said means to maintain said connected fasteners in operative relationship with one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

